PUTRAJAYA, March 9 — The Malaysian government is in the final phase of preparations to carry out the evacuation of Malaysians from several countries affected by the conflict in the Middle East following increasingly deteriorating security developments in the region.
The National Security Council (NSC) said that the evacuation operation was ordered by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who directed that all necessary measures be mobilised immediately to ensure the safety and welfare of Malaysians in the affected areas.
The operation would be coordinated closely with the Foreign Affairs Ministry (Wisma Putra) through Malaysia’s diplomatic missions in the countries concerned.
“The Malaysian government will do everything within its capacity to ensure that the Malaysians involved can return home safely,” it said in a statement today.
The NSC, together with Wisma Putra, would provide regular updates on the operation to all parties until the entire process of bringing Malaysians home is completed.
Tensions in the Middle East have escalated since February 28, following attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran, which were followed by retaliatory strikes by Tehran against United States interests in Gulf countries.
According to Wisma Putra's records, as of March 8, 641 Malaysians remained stranded in several affected countries in the region, while 24,568 had registered through the e-Konsular system as of March 7.
